I’m going to take a break from my usual droning this coming week to talk about Life With Three Under Three. Five years is far enough removed from those days to have some perspective and yet close enough to remember everything. Motherhood isn’t meant to be survived but enjoyed. Yet, the skills we need to enjoy it usually are learned after-the-fact. I hate it when that happens.

crazymom

I remember that older moms would pat me on the head while chanting in unison, “This too shall pass.” Every time that happened, though, I wanted to stop the chorus and ask, “But what if I’m dead of exhaustion before it passes? And what if my marriage doesn’t make it through to the other side? And what if I ruin the kids in the process?”

Michele gave me permission to post her email here:

As you mentioned that you don’t remember a harder time than having three under three, I’d like to pick your brain a bit.

I’m due to give birth to #3 in about six weeks and my oldest is just over 3. Knowing what you know now, what would advice would you give to me? What do you wish you had known back then that you didn’t? What could be done to better prepare myself, the kids, the house, the husband, whatever?

I’ve heard over and over from other mothers who say that having three littles was much harder than having 5, 6, 7, or more. So I’m keen to hear what you have to say, when you have a chance.

By the fall of 2001, I had a two-year-old, a one-year-old, a miscarriage, a newborn, and a new move. I had my hands full, according to me and all the folks in the grocery store.

The internet is full of tips, tricks, and organizational methods. There isn’t a need to repeat them all. However, there are a few secrets known among veteran moms that are still unpublished because—well—they’re secret. I will tell them to you and enjoy the extra humility it affords.

Boy 2